My first Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving in 1981 was a memorable one, as I went to watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. It was a glorious day with thousands of people watching the floats of Snoopy, Spiderman, the Smurfs and Kermit float by in the cold autumn air. I thought I would spend the rest of the day visiting some stores in Manhattan, but everything was closed! So I headed back to New Hyde Park where I joined the Donohues, one of the families in my parish for a delicious turkey dinner. Things have changed over the years as some stores started to open in the evening to beat the Black Friday rush of customers storming the stores for early Christmas shopping. But it’s a shame that commercialism and materialism has tarnished this otherwise religious and meaningful holiday. But even as many Americans watch the balloons, football games and enjoy a turkey dinner, as well as some pumpkin pie (at least for those who like them) let us also be thankful to God for giving us another year of blessings and graces. I am grateful for my health, my family close by, staying busy with plenty of work, Masses, articles to write, homilies to prepare, flute melodies to transcribe and play, soups to cook, photos to take, PowerPoint talks to prepare and share, interviews for our Catholic newspaper, my daily blog seen by hundreds, as well as some new water color projects. A Blessed  Thanksgiving to everyone.